Meet Gabrielle Brooks, Shakespeare's Star On The Rise

I feel like such a fangirl, but I pretty much am," actress Gabrielle Brooks, who is making waves as Viola in the Young Vic's musical version of Twelfth Night - the latest iteration of Shakespeare to hit the London stage - says of the 16th-Century playwright. "He was such an amazing story teller... His stories are so universal, about things we all can relate to: love, grief, hate, tragedy, jealousy."

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It might sound like an unlikely description of a Shakespeare enthusiast (what would the fandom collective be? Shakers? Bardies?) but the singing-and-dancing production is the Bard's work as we have rarely seen before. Staged with the spirit and energy of Notting Hill Carnival, with a lively score by Shaina Taub, the joy-filled production was conceived by Kwame Kwei-Armah to open his tenure as artistic director of the Young Vic.

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"If there is one thing I could change [about Shakespeare] it would be to rid people of the fear," Brooks continues. "We hear Shakespeare and instantly still associate it with exclusivity and class. That's years and years of beliefs to dispel, so let's do something about it. His plays are for everyone! If we have to shake things up in order for people to feel safe and included then I am all for it."

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Shaking things up is exactly what Kwei-Armah is doing with his debut - and not just in the diversity of the cast, the inclusivity of the language used (the traditional verse is brilliantly blended with modernisms - "Oh, shit" utters Viola as she realises Olivia's attraction to her, disguised as Cesario), and the 30-plus community chorus from Southwark and Lambeth. Accessibility to theatre is one of the issues that the former actor and playwright is keen to address from his newly acquired helm. He has introduced £5 tickets for the first previews of his shows, and the theatre has unveiled plans to put on performances in the local community.

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"He talks about community, transparency, joy and love very frequently and I can tell you that not only does he bring all of those into his process, but it's evident in this show," says Brooks of Kwei-Armah. "The community chorus in our production aren't just an accessory. We are doing this show together and bringing the joy as a group. There is something so special about that."

The exclusion that can put people off Shakespeare begins for many, Brooks believes, at school. It did for her, where she remembers a long English lesson studying a text that seemed "scary and uninteresting" until she discovered it was supposed to be performed.

"The total fear of reading aloud aside, I suddenly perked up and thought ‘Oh my god, it's meant to be read aloud’," she says. "We started to dissect the language and my mind was blown because then the pay off starts to come."

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JOHAN PERSSON

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Many of the themes in Shakespeare's plays are as relevant in the present day as they ever have been. But there is a particular element of Twelfth Night that makes it extraordinarily pertinent right now, in the current climate, when gender politics are at the forefront of news and conversation.

"The themes that really stand out for me and what makes it exciting now are gender roles and expectations," Brooks tells us. "We all wear masks to navigate our way through the world and I feel like our particular version of Twelfth Night really highlights that," she adds, referring to the concealment of her character as male servant Cesario. The connotations of the gender swapping is underscored to the audience during a dance number where she switches between the blazer-wearing Cesario and blouse-clad Viola, singing about how she is perceived differently with her male stance.

"Viola starts the show shipwrecked and alone without her twin brother. In her panic she goes straight into survival mode. With the very little information given to her she knows the easiest way to do that is to become a man. How interesting and relevant is that?", Brooks considers. "We all know that men have great privilege over women but she not only knows this but uses it to aid her survival. She quickly learns the opportunities afforded to her when she is a man. She now possesses everything that make her wonderful as Viola (her quick wit, compassion, intelligence) but she now has a platform and people want to hear her."

For Brooks, the rehearsal process was "probably the most fun I have ever had for various reasons", partly due to "a lot of warmth in the room and feeling safe to make mistakes". But finding the "boy swagger" necessary to take Viola into Cesario was still a challenge.

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"I didn’t realise how in-built in me it was to use my femininity as a crutch and that when told to present yourself like a man you suddenly have to question what that actually means in the modern world," she says. "At first I felt like I was just trying too hard or that all the males in the cast would think I was just making fun of them. I have to say the suit helped greatly, but before that I actually decided to base Cesario's movements on a couple of men in my life."

JOHAN PERSSON

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From a tap-dancing, scooter-riding Malvolio to a confetti finale, leaving the 90-minute production with a smile is almost inevitable, whatever your previous experience of Shakespeare has been.

"When [Kwame] talked about [theatre] being like Church for him, I knew I was sold," Brooks muses of the artistic director's vision for the Young Vic. "The hype is real. Kwame is making theatre for everyone. He is going to bring the community to the theatre."